Friday, 4 February 2011

Save Our Forests

Below is an e-mail that I received from a friend that he in turn received from The Woodland Trust. It details how this government is planning to sell off our forests here in Britain. Can I urge all my good friends to read this e-mail and then go to The Woodland Trust website and sign their petition that they are going to give to our government. Think back to the times when you walked as a child in a `huge` magical forest, just in wonder at the trees, all the wildlife and if this `sell-off` goes ahead our children and their children will not have that delight! So, I urge you, please sign the petition.

"Ancient woods must be treated as a special case Ancient woods are the UK's equivalent of the rainforest: unique, irreplaceable and our richest wildlife habitat. The proposals do not treat all ancient woods as a special case: only some are included in the proposed category of heritage woods.Stronger protection is needed for ancient woods In the last decade we have fought to protect 850 cases of ancient woods threatened by development. This shows that much stronger protection is needed for these precious places before any sales can be considered.Planted ancient woods must be restored The Forestry Commission owns over 20,000 hectares of ancient woods that have been damaged by the planting of conifers. Their restoration to broadleaved woodland would be one of the most significant contributions to wildlife conservation in a generation. We have lobbied passionately for their cause in the media. We have also persuaded government to halt their current back door sales until the consultation is complete. Replanting conifers will smother the life out of these fragile habitats so we need government to guarantee their urgent restoration.Public access must be maintained The passionate outcry about the future of public forests underlines how important access to woods and their beautiful surroundings is to millions of people each year. The Government's proposals to include agreements to maintain existing levels of access to bind future owners are crucial to maintaining this public benefit and we must hold them to account on this.Transfers to charities must be properly funded The proposals suggest that some woods could be transferred to charities such as the Woodland Trust. We would welcome the chance to work with government to safeguard the future of planted ancient woods in particular, perhaps through management agreements, but would need substantial and sustained funding from government before we could take over its responsibilities. We are concerned that such funding may be limited in the current economic climate. Stronger protection is therefore also essential.Please speak up for our much loved woods by signing our petition to government now.Thank you"

4 comments:

My daughter and I help out at a local Ancient Woodland (Repton Forest in Redbridge, Essex). It contains plants that have not been atificially propagated in this country for hundreds of years, eg, Butcher's Broom.This is a really important part of our heritage and I thoroughly concur with the sentiments expressed here. I have just signed the petition. Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

Hi John,Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I echo our good friend, 'bazza's sentiments about this being an important and vital part of our heritage. I'm on my way to sign the petition!I hope you are having a most peaceful and positive weekend.With respect, Gary.

Welcome to my blog which is a diary of my sightings of birds and other wildlife along with occasional musings.

Most of my birding and wildlife watching is done in the Peterborough area where each year I list all the bird species I see within the recording area of the Peterborough Bird Club (PBC), although I have been known to visit north Norfolk and Lincolnshire occasionally. I have also just started dipping my toe tentatively into the world of 'Twitching'.

I hope you enjoy your visit and feel free to leave a comment, I reply to all.

"The Earth does not belong to man,Man belongs to the Earth;We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors,We borrow it from our children;Man did not weave the web of life,He is merely a strand in it,Whatever he does to the web,He does to himself." Chief Seattle 1780-1866